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Nathaniel Essex (Earth-616)
MISTER SINISTER Real Name: Dr. Nathaniel Essex Nicknames: No known nicknames Aliases: Mr. Sinister, Nathan Milbury, Michael Milbury, Arnold Bocklin, Dr Windsor Occupation: Geneticist Legal Status: As Essex, citizen of England during the 1800s in poor standing with his scientific peers. Identity: Secret Marital Status: Marital status unknown Group Affiliation: Marauders, Nasty Boys, Four Horsemen. Base of Operations: Base of operations unknown Place of Birth: London, England Known Relatives: No known relatives First Appearance: UNCANNY X-MEN #221 Origin: 19th century England. History: Nathaniel Essex was a biologist in Victorian England who developed advanced theories on human evolution. A geneticist of unparalleled genius, he foresaw the coming mutations that would transform mankind. However, his unorthodox experiments resulted in his ouster from the Royal Society and caused his wife to shun him. These rejections led him to ally himself with Apocalypse, an immortal mutant who has witnessed virtually the whole of human history. Apocalypse transformed Essex into the ageless being known as Mr. Sinister. Sinister has conducted numerous experiments in his time. He operated an obstetrics clinic in New York in the late 19th century and performed side research on society's deviants. As Dr. Essex, he influenced the work of Herbert Wyndham, the man who became the High Evolutionary. Sinister plotted the course of certain gene pools for more than a century, discovering that the combination of Scott Summers' and Jean Grey's traits would produce a mutant of incredible power. The future Cyclops was brought to Sinister's orphanage in Nebraska, and the geneticist collected a blood sample from the girl who would come to be known as Phoenix to confirm his findings. Sinister used that sample when Jean died to create a clone, Madelyne Pryor, who later became the evil Goblin Queen. Following up on his genetic pursuits, Sinister set in motion the so-called "Mutant Massacre." A community of mutants who considered themselves outcasts from society, the Morlocks lived in tunnels under New York City. Sinister's Marauders annihilated the Morlocks because Essex had found that the Dark Beast had, without permission used Essex´s gentic findings (which he had learned from Essex in the Age of Apocalypse which he, Sugarman and X-Man narrowly escaped) in experiments on the tunnel-dwellers. Sinister first fought the X-Men during the "Inferno" crisis, an invasion of demon mutants he helped create. He sometimes aids Charles Xavier's team, but for his own reasons. Sinister helped Gambit save the savage Sabretooth's life, and assisted the X-Man again when he became trapped in the 19th century; took in the mutant Threnody and provided her with devices to control her energy releases; and returned Courier, a messenger with the ability to control every molecule in his body, to a more human state. In almost every case, however, Sinister exacts a price very costly to the soul. When the High Evolutionary activated a satellite that stripped all Homo superior of their mutations, Essex, who had come to support his student's work, revealed himself as Sinister and modified the beam to mutate every human on Earth, hoping to create an entire planet of lab subjects. Soon after, the mysterious Neo attacked many of Sinister's facilities. Height: 6'5" Weight: 285 lbs (130 kg) Eyes: Shining Red, no visible pupils Hair: Black Unusual Features: Completely white skin, a red diamond upon forehead. Strength Level: Strength level unknown Known Powers: Mister Sinister possesses a wide array of powers. He has exhibited limited shapeshifting. He once reduced himself into a semi-liquid state. At times he has demonstrated vast superhuman strength, which may be a product of his shapeshifting. He has frequently shown a remarkable resistance to injury and excellent regenerative abilities - he has survived having a large hole shot through his head, and apparently survived having the flesh blasted off his bones at the climax of the Inferno story arc. It was believed he was particularly susceptible to the Optic Blasts of Cyclops, but he later revealed that that was yet another ruse on his part. He has also demonstrated minor telepathic powers in the past, including the ability to mentally paralyze a foe he's touching. He has also exhibited some minor telekinetic abilities, such as mentally moving objects and firing blasts of concussive force from his hands or from the diamond-shaped scarlet mark on his forehead. He was believed to possess the power of teleportation, but it was revealed this was not an innate ability, but a function of his tesseract headquarters. Known Abilities: Sinister is extremely intelligent and a geneticist of the highest order, able to predict genetic mutations and splice DNA. (It is quite probable his are the result of self-experimentation - his shapeshifitng power is due to a procedure he performed on himself with help from a time-traveling Gambit.) He can also produce large amounts of clones; he has done so with all his Marauders, and with Jean Grey. He at one time possessed tissue samples of thousands of people, dating possibly as far back as the 1860s, including several American Presidents. He is a master surgeon, having excised a portion of Gambit's brain, and then later restored it (although from Sinister's point of view, he restored a portion of Gambit's brain and later excised it, as Gambit was travelling back in time when the restoration was completed, possibly a Predestination paradox), and a skilled mechanical engineer, having created devices that seem taken from the tales of Jules Verne. He possesses a good deal of knowledge in psychology, and is a skilled manipulator. Many of his bases seem to have some quasi-biological properties, able to "grow" tentacles from a surface to hold a prisoner at Sinister's mental commands. Personality: Sinister is a ruthless man who has no compunctions about ruining the lives of others to get what he wants. He prefers to operate in the shadows, letting lackeys and unsuspecting dupes do his dirty work. He is arrogant, confident, and expects total obedience from his underlings. He is known to have collaborated with members of the Nazi party. Equipment: No known equipment. Transportation: No known transportation. Weapons: No known weapons. Notes: No special notes. ---- Related Articles: ---- External Links: ---- References: * Marvel Directory ---- Return to Character Selection ----